Sydney Sixers keen on meeting public demand for derby tickets at SCG

Sydney Sixers general manager Dom Remond says further discussions need to take place with the SCG Trust to ensure public demand for tickets can be satisfied, especially with some members not filling their seats at Big Bash matches.

The NSW domestic crowd record was broken on Saturday evening as 38,456 people watched Mike Hussey's Sydney Thunder overpower the Sydney Sixers at the SCG for the second time this season. Tickets to the general public were sold out by 2pm on game day, which resulted in a number of disgruntled fans questioning why there were vacant seats at the ground.

"It's quite a challenge for them [the Trust] because they've got 38,000 members": The crowd looks on during the derby. Photo: Cameron Spencer

For weeks Sixers officials had been in negotiations with the Trust to free up more tickets in a bid to get the SCG - which has a capacity of 48,000 - as full as possible.

Remond was thrilled with the overall turnout on Saturday but, judging by the public demand for tickets, said he thought an extra "2000 to 5000 more tickets" could have been sold to punters had they been available.

"It's quite a challenge for them [the Trust] because they've got 38,000 members," Remond said. "There's probably some opportunity to look at their guidelines in the Members' Stand because I noticed there was some spare seats there. We would love to have it visibly full as well. That's a challenge for both of us. They've been very supportive in helping us get tickets back. We also bought back a whole lot of corporate hospitality tickets from their third party providers this year and sold them as premium seating."

There were 9000 members in attendance on Saturday – just shy of the 10,000 to 12,000 expected. To put that in context, about 13,000 to 14,000 members turn up for a Test match, which is why the crowd figure for Test matches sometimes pushes beyond 40,000.

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Although more members are attending Big Bash matches at the SCG than ever before, Remond believes more can still be done to attract even more fans through the turnstiles.

"Initially when the Big Bash was launched, we discussed with the Trust that we didn't think many members would be coming along, but as the success of the league has grown, every cricket fan wants to come to it, so we're seeing those numbers increase year on year," Remond said.

Despite the increasing popularity of the Big Bash, the Sydney Test is still the centrepiece match of the summer. Members traditionally make sure they are in Sydney when the Test is on and will schedule their holidays and trips away before and after the first week in January, when the Test is played.

That could explain why fewer members turn out for domestic T20 matches - because they still prioritise the Test.

Another theory, which Remond says is plausible, is that members who turn out in droves for the Test are a slightly different crowd to the families and kids who flock to a Big Bash match. Many members are traditionalists, still avid followers of the longer form of the game who might not yet have embraced the T20 format.

A spokesperson for the Trust said it was very comfortable with the crowd on Saturday and would continue to work with the Sixers in order to reach a happy medium between fulfilling public demand and satisfying members.

"In just a few years, the Sixers-Thunder derby at the SCG has developed into one of the great events on the Sydney sporting calendar," a Trust spokesperson said. "The Sydney sporting public, and SCG members in particular, have embraced the BBL in unprecedented numbers. The Trust will work closely with the Sixers, CA and CNSW to continue the growth of the BBL at the SCG."

A total of 111,824 people attended Sixers matches at the SCG this season - an average of 27,956 - but nonetheless, Remond wants next year's crowd figures to be even bigger.

"We strive each year to try and break the record that we set last year," Remond said. "It was a fantastic show-up from the general public and we now set our sights for next year. My big aim is to get over that 40,000 mark. There's certainly a lot of potential still to grow within the current schedule."